 September 2000: the IMF Sunmit in Prague |
Should international investors consider moving into
the Czech Republic? Undoubtedly so, says Jan
Novak, managing director of a telecoms company
Sitel.
"Even though there are imperfections, the Czech
Republic is not a bad place to do business, especially
with its qualified labor force and low costs," he
explains. The Czech Republic can also be a good
bridge moving further to the East, not to mention
the fact that by currently building its Czech operations,
companies are buying future EU market share for
under-EU prices. "Moreover, the Czech Republic should
push for quick expansion, as there are definitely
more upsides in joining sooner than later and the
upsides outweigh the negatives," adds Ruppert
E. Queitsch, managing director of Renaissance
and Marriott Executive Departments in Prague. |
The strong position of the Czech Republic among other post-communist central European countries is confirmed by another major event: the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank will be held at the end of this September in Prague. This is the first time the IMF / World Bank meeting will be held in a postcommunist country, showing the confidence and trust the two international institutions have in the Czech Republic, its people and its economy.
Undoubtedly, the main goal of the Czech Republic is to become a full-fledged member of the European Union. "I would be very pleased if most of the population in western Europe were positive about the process of unification and looked at this process as bringing stability, peace and improvements of the standard of living all across the European continent," summarizes Josef Tosovsky, the governor of the Czech National Bank. |
